Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management

 

Special Issue on: “Rapid Product Development, Tooling and Agile Manufacturing”

Guest Editor: Dr Spencer Onuh, University of Portsmouth, UK

Agility, as a desirable strategic feature of industrial enterprises, was introduced by the Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University in the 1990s. The main topic at that time was Agile Manufacturing. This involved techniques such as Virtual Enterprises, Lean Manufacturing, Flexible Manufacturing, and Rapid Prototyping. Because agility is defined as the ability of a system to adapt itself to rapid and unexpected changes, the concept soon was applied to fields beyond manufacturing. The entire production process, starting from the customer order, and passing through product development, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain management, delivery and services, should be agile in order to be competitive. Also, for the software development industries, process industries and services industries, agility either is or will be essential. Agility covers both technical and managerial aspects.

The competitiveness of industry is based on its flexibility in adapting to new technologies and market trends. The support for enterprises to improve their capacity and competitiveness can be achieved with the help of Rapid Prototyping Technologies, Tooling and Manufacture. Therefore, this special issue aims to consolidate the experimental and theoretical works in new and advanced Rapid Prototyping technology potentials and solutions, as well as users’ recommendations for efficient implementation of agility in product development processes.

Subject Coverage
The special issue will cover a range of issues and topics, including but not limited to:

• Rapid prototyping
• Rapid tooling
• CAD/CAE/reverse engineering
• Applications of RP&RT
• Rapid manufacturing
• High speed machining
• Laser processing
• Mould making
• Materials
• Design engineering /management
• New trends in product development
• Virtual environments
• Advanced developments in RP&RT

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Manuscripts should be submitted no later than: 31 December, 2006